Service Ecosystem Perspective Research Articles

Filling in the gaps: a service ecosystem perspective on purchase groups as interstitial markets

Purpose Given the continuing need to study service marketing adaptations that emerged in the wake of Covid-19, this paper aims to look at the formation and evolution of purchase groups (PGs) that arose in Indian gated communities during the pandemic and have continued functioning in the post-pandemic marketplace. Not only did these groups act as much-needed interstitial markets during a time of significant external disruption, but they also served as sites of value co-creation, with consumers collaborating with each other and with service providers. Design/methodology/approach Using a phenomenological research approach, the authors conducted 22 in-depth interviews with Indian consumers and small service providers to gather accounts of how PGs started and evolved with time. Subsequent data coding and analyses are conducted with NVivo 12. Findings Using the service ecosystem perspective, the authors illustrate seven distinct themes that capture the nuances of the formation and evolution of PGs. These consist of entrepreneurality, collectivity, and fluidity at the service ecosystem level, hybridity and transactionality at the servicescape level, and mutuality and permeability at the service encounter level. Originality/value This study provides an empirical and theoretically grounded account of a long-term service marketing adaptation that has persisted in the post-pandemic marketplace. This helps us address recent calls for such research while also adding to the work on value co-creation in collective consumption contexts and extant discourse on service ecosystems.

A three-level view of readiness models: Statistical and managerial insights on industry 4.0

Over the past ten years, business intelligence (BI) and data analytics (DA) have consistently increased their impact on information management and firms' strategies, as evidenced in decision-making processes. Moreover, using new tools in so-called digitalization has become a core element, and while it may help firms sustain their competitive advantage, it could also have multiple side effects. Therefore, this paper adopts a service ecosystem perspective and focuses on firms’ level of digitalization to observe the effects of technologies regarded as actors, as well as deriving outlooks beyond the firm level. Additionally, a multilevel view is aligned with the digital service ecosystem and supports the analysis of Industry 4.0 as sociotechnical factors in smart manufacturing technologies. Using principal component analysis (PCA), an analysis of industries was conducted to identify where the modernization of manufacturing and the contribution of digitalization show lower levels of readiness. Furthermore, the purpose of the analysis is to alert firms about opportunities to gain the most from digitalization or to enhance their level of implementation of such technologies. A three-level view emerges because novel technology implementation ranges from companies to industries to regions; therefore, a general process of digitalization may also increase competitiveness at a wider level.

Orchestration of value: the role of customer success managers within sales ecosystems

PurposeThis study aims to integrate research on customer success (CS) management with the service ecosystems perspective of selling to enhance the understanding of the CS management function and the outcomes selling firms should expect based on implementation of CS management.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply the service ecosystems perspective of selling to describe how CS management is manifested in practice by offering relevant insights and practical industry examples.FindingsStudy findings identify relevant ecosystem actors, acting on behalf of the customer, required for the delivery of desirable customer outcomes. Study findings also link the orchestration efforts of CS managers to theory-based tenets for explanation of how CS management facilitates the attainment of competitive advantages via the thickening and thinning of ecosystem crossing points.Research limitations/implicationsGiven that the research is conceptual, additional research that empirically examines this framework and the insights presented would lend further credence to the recommendations the authors suggest.Practical implicationsFrom a practical perspective, the authors present a “Customer Relationship and Solution Innovation Matrix” which integrates necessary value-creating activities that CS managers perform and the coordination with internal actors that CS managers rely on to create value.Originality/valueAlthough the practice of CS management is becoming increasingly common, theoretical approaches capable of explaining the function have been lacking. Similarly, while the service ecosystems perspective redefines selling to encompass a broader set of actors than traditionally examined, practical examinations of the theory are limited. The authors address these issues, integrating both research streams for an enhanced understanding of the CS management function through the service ecosystems perspective theoretical lens.

The nature and fundamental elements of digital service innovation

PurposeThis paper addresses the growing fragmentation between traditional and digital service innovation (DSI) research and offers a unifying metatheoretical framework.Design/methodology/approachGrounded in service-dominant (S-D) logic's service ecosystems perspective, this study builds on an institutional and systemic, rather than product-centric and linear, conceptualization of value creation to offer a unifying framework for (digital) service innovation that applies to both physical and digital service provisions.FindingsThis paper questions the commonly perpetuated idea that DSI fundamentally changes the nature of innovation. Instead, it highlights resource liquification—the decoupling of information from the technologies that store, transmit, or process this information—as a distinguishing characteristic of DSI. Liquification, however, does not affect the relational and institutional nature of service innovation, which is always characterized by (1) the emergence of novel outcomes, (2) distributed governance and (3) symbiotic design. Instead, liquification makes these three characteristics more salient.Originality/value In presenting a cohesive service innovation framework, this study underscores that all innovation processes are rooted in combinatorial evolution. Here, service-providing actors (re)combine technologies (or more generally, institutions) to adapt their value cocreation practices. This research demonstrates that such (re)combinations exhibit emergence, distributed governance and symbiotic design. While these characteristics may initially seem novel and unique to DSI, it reveals that their fundamental mechanisms are not limited to digital service ecosystems. They are, in fact, integral to service innovation across virtual, physical and blended contexts. The study highlights the importance of exercising caution in assuming that the emergence of novel technologies, including digital technologies, necessitates a concurrent rethinking of the fundamental processes of service innovation.

Integrating technology within the sales-service ecosystem: the emergent sales techno-ecosystem

PurposeSales organizations embrace technological innovation. However, salespeople’s willingness to use new technology influences a firm’s return on investment, representing a significant concern for the organization. These concerns highlight tensions regarding the tradeoffs associated with technology implementations. The purpose of this study is to offer insights that help reduce the complexities of sales technology (ST) by exploring the changing dynamics of contemporary business relationships.Design/methodology/approachThis paper synthesizes the ST literature using the service ecosystem perspective to propose the sales techno-ecosystem (STE) framework, providing new insights into organizational decision-making related to the ongoing digital transformation of sales tasks.FindingsThis synthesis of the ST literature with the service ecosystem seeks to clarify the impact of technology within the evolving nature of buyer–seller relationships by providing four unique perspectives.Research limitations/implicationsPerspective 1 reviews the sales-service ecosystem framework and develops the theoretical underpinnings and relevant terminologies. Perspective 2 summarizes critical aspects of the ST literature and provides foundations for future research in the STE. Perspective 3 offers a more granular view, explicating roles and contexts prevalent in buyer–seller–technology interactions. Perspective 4 provides a set of tenets and advances research questions related to each tenet.Practical implicationsThe culmination of these four perspectives is the introduction of five key tenants designed to help guide strategy and research.Originality/valueThe paper advances Hartmann et al. (2018) service ecosystem paradigm by explicating critical aspects of its ST domain to generate insights for theory and practice.

A cross-cultural study on the career counseling service ecosystem: implications for higher education marketing

ABSTRACT A career counseling service (CCS) provides an important measure of student satisfaction and contributes to the shaping of a higher education marketing strategy. However, the body of knowledge in the higher education domain is scant on how a CCS is created and delivered to suit the needs of students and the wider society. This study uses an explorative multiple-case study of the CCS across three different cultural contexts: UK, Italy, and China. The study adopted a service ecosystem perspective, building on contingency theory (i)to analyze the CCS as a tri-level scheme – that is to say, at the micro, meso, and macro levels – and identify the themes and underlying constructs in the co-creation of the CCS at each level and (ii)to highlight the disparities in CCSs across different cultural contexts. Six dominant themes in CCSs emerged – namely, quality assurance, a student-centered approach, mental health, industry collaboration, promotion of service, and digital platforms. The findings revealed that the role of the CCS is transitioning from a mere job placement service to a strategic and administrative function, which interacts with and influences various actors in the higher education ecosystem. Across the different cultural contexts, disparities in the identified themes were ascertained and explained.

Institutional re-configuration and value co-creation in circular product development: A service ecosystem perspective in the textile and apparel industry

Research on circular product development has gained popularity in recent years. While such approaches focus on the product's design phase to create environmental and economic value, they lack in understanding the co-created and dynamic nature of a multifaceted system of actors important for the transition to circularity. The purpose is to explore how multi-level institutional re-configuration patterns influence resource integration and its associated value co-creation during circular product development in a service ecosystem. Responding to the need to address the applicability of Service-Dominant Logic to managerial practice, the paper relies on a single case study of circular product development involving B2B actors in a supply chain for workwear garments in healthcare. Data was collected using participant observation during an innovation project lasting 1,5 years. The data, which was supplemented by semi-structured interviews and online queries, was analysed through coding, condensation and interpretation. The findings demonstrate the importance of interdependencies between institutional re-configuration patterns and the interrelatedness of the micro, meso and macro levels in a service ecosystem as these enable value co-creation opportunities during circular product development. For practitioners, the paper provides an understanding of how to manage enablers and barriers arising during circular product development through institutional work.

An analysis of policies, challenges and outcomes in Pakistan through co-creation of COVID-19 responses

PurposeBased on the service eco-systems perspective, this paper evaluates the strategies and actions adopted by the Government of Pakistan to handle the COVID-19 crisis with the involvement of multiple actors including public, private, third-sector organizations and civil society.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on an in-depth analysis of secondary sources including research articles, policy documents, policy briefs, governmental reports, third party evaluations/reports and media publications.FindingsA multi-stakeholder approach was evident during the pandemic with an effort to better manage the crisis which has exerted immense social, cultural, economic and political impacts on the lives of the citizens. Collaborative efforts among stakeholders (government, private and third sector) were witnessed, resulting in a coherent response. The successful management of COVID-19 in Pakistan is attributed to multiple factors including the formation of a specialized public organization which effectively and proactively took data-driven informed decisions and aggregated the efforts of the federal and provincial governments for a timely response.Originality/valueThis paper gives insights for policymakers to create a sustainable post-pandemic socio-economic environment by building resilient structures across the government while promoting cooperation and collaboration. It suggests strategies for policymakers responsible for providing sustainable societal solutions to combat the social, economic and administrative challenges under the pandemic. As Pakistan has managed and contained the pandemic in a relatively efficient way, it is hoped that this paper can provide a learning experience for other countries with similar national contexts.

Smart cash point in a B2B market to enable service innovation: towards transparency and shared intentions- a case study

Purpose This work tries to detect the factors that can impact service innovation in the retail sector according to a service ecosystem (SES) perspective. This paper aims to understand whether it is possible to study innovation focusing on the impact of technology on resource integration practices in SESs and to rank different patterns of innovation by evaluating their effects in terms of value co-creation. Design/methodology/approach To show up the perception of actors, a case study has been carried out through semi-structured interviews. The aggregates of practices and the service innovation archetypes, drawn from the theoretical background, have been used as categories of analysis. Findings Service innovation is reconceptualised as the result of the application of new technology to resource integration practices in the retail SES, and it is possible to rank its patterns and outcomes by deepening its effects on the emergence of value co-creation phenomena. Shared intentions have been identified as drivers of service innovation, but greater transparency in systems used to embolden a higher willingness to use could be necessary. Originality/value Service innovation has been studied by focusing on value co-creation; for this reason, the willingness to use technology emerged as a determinant of service innovation. This result implies the need for a multilevel reinterpretation of contemporary SES, both regarding the technical features of digital solutions and their adherence to users' skills and the effects of willingness or unwillingness to use on value co-creation.

It Takes a Village: An Ecosystem Perspective on Caring for Patients with High Need

Providing high-value care for patients with high need requires effective organization of collaboration and integration across care sectors. To better organize care, recent work suggests a need to move away from individual organizations that deliver parts of care to encompass care as being delivered by an entire ecosystem including all actors involved in care delivery. However, empirical evidence of processes through which value is created within ecosystems and the governance mechanisms that support value creation is limited. In a qualitative study of eight primary care practices in the United States, we explore with which actors primary care practices interact to deliver high-value care for patients with high need. And, which governing mechanisms help primary care practices interact with actors in the service ecosystem to deliver high-value care for these patient. In adopting a service ecosystem perspective, we categorize the broad group of actors with whom primary care practices interact. We discover that governance mechanisms are more intentional and formalized between actors between which professional understanding is more closely aligned and task interdependence is higher, while more governance voids existed between actors from more divergent sectors such as primary care practices and community resource providers. Key words: Ecosystems, governance voids, governance mechanisms, high cost high need patients

Value in primary care clinics: a service ecosystem perspective.

Summary In this article, we propose that value is a multidimensional construct, highlighting the need for a multi‐actor service ecosystem perspective of value in primary care clinics.We argue that different actors in the service ecosystem — for example, patients, their family members and carers, medical practitioners, practice managers, nurses, allied health workers, receptionists and practice owners — may value different aspects of health service delivery more highly than others.We describe ways in which value is perceived among actors in primary care, and highlight the need for a greater focus on a broader view of value involving the various stakeholders to realise better outcomes.

How do macro-environmental factors impact customer experience? A refined typology, integrative framework, and implications

ABSTRACT In increasingly turbulent times shaped by macro-environmental shifts, the complexity of customer experience has radically intensified. Augmenting this complexity, myriad contingency factors are involved in customer experience delivery. Therefore, scholars have called for the development of a comprehensive view of the extent to which customer experience literature has viewed and studied the roles of macro-environmental factors, and an integrative understanding of how customer experience can be affected by different macro-environmental factors. To this end, this study (1) differentiates the concept of macro-environmental factors; (2) summarizes extant knowledge by conducting a systematic literature review via qualitative and quantitative analysis to identify relevant research gaps; and (3) grounded in the service-dominant logic service ecosystem perspective, develops an integrative framework that integrates a holistic, novel view and understanding of the dynamic relationship between customer experience and macro-environmental factors while accounting for different contingency factors of lower environmental factors (meso and micro). Using the COVID-19 crisis, we vividly illustrate the real-life applicability of the integrative framework we develop. The study broadens the scope of customer experience research, offers actionable ideas for business managers in a turbulent environment, and puts forth a research agenda identifying key research lines for advancing the customer experience research field.

A critical review of robot research and future research opportunities: adopting a service ecosystem perspective

PurposeGiven the recent growth of service robot research in hospitality and tourism management (HTM), the purpose of this study is to identify a research agenda by conducting a systematic and holistic review of service robot research published in both HTM and broader business management (BM) journals.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a service ecosystem perspective, 38 HTM articles and 13 highly cocited BM articles out of 126 BM articles were qualitatively reviewed to analyze the intellectual structures and foundations of robotics research.FindingsThe relationships between service robots and the four multilevel actors of the service ecosystem were analyzed: the consumer, employee, management and society. Twenty-eight specific research questions were proposed for the robotics-customer relationship, robotics-employee relationship, robotics-management relationship and robotics-society relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to understanding the intellectual structures and evolution of rapidly growing HTM robotics research in terms of the holistic relationships among the four service ecosystem actors of robotics. Future research needs to identify other actors and their activities to examine the service ecosystem of robotics.Originality/valueThis study provides a pathway for future hospitality and tourism research by helping to focus on important robotics issues and further develop the theoretical and empirical knowledge of robotics. This work informs practitioners of key issues associated with the industrial adoption of robots.

The role of public relations in shaping service ecosystems for social change

PurposeWicked problems require holistic and systemic thinking that accommodates interdisciplinary solutions and cross-sectoral collaborations between private and public sectors. This paper explores how public relations (PR) – as a boundary-spanning function at the nexus of corporate and political discourse – can support societies to tackle wicked problems.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper synthesizes literature on PR with a service ecosystem perspective. The authors use the service ecosystem design framework to structure the PR literature and develop a model of service ecosystem shaping for social change, which highlights the important role that PR can play in shaping processes.FindingsThe authors explicate how PR can (1) facilitate value cocreation processes between broad sets of stakeholders that drive positive social change, (2) shape institutional arrangements in general and public discourse in particular, (3) provide a platform for recursive feedback loops of reflexivity and (re)formation that enables discourse to ripple through nested service ecosystems and (4) guide collective shaping efforts by bringing stakeholder concerns and beliefs into the open, which provides a foundation for collective sense-making of wicked problems and their solutions.Originality/valueThis paper explains the complexity of shaping service ecosystems for positive social change. Specifically, it highlights how solving wicked problems and driving social change requires reconfiguration of the institutional arrangements that guide various nested service ecosystems. The authors discuss in detail how PR can contribute to the shaping of service ecosystems for social change and present a future research agenda for both service and PR scholars to consider.

A contextual account of digital servitization through autonomous solutions: Aligning a digital servitization process and a maritime service ecosystem transformation to autonomous shipping

This study focuses on digital servitization (DS) through autonomous solutions by building on a service ecosystems perspective. The rise of autonomous solutions exemplifies the ongoing digitalization and societal transformation and therefore integrative theoretical perspectives are needed to complement the dominant focal actor perspective in extant DS research. The study presents a longitudinal case of a solution provider's DS process to demonstrate how transformation towards autonomous shipping was driven in the maritime sector. An empirically enriched framework communicates DS process as aligned changes in value propositions, resource configurations and institutional arrangements within the service ecosystem. The study offers academic contributions and practical implications on managing DS through autonomous solutions as a strategic reorientation of a firm in the multi-level context of service ecosystem transformation.

Viewpoint: shaping resilient service ecosystems in times of crises – a trans-Tasman perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a holistic understanding for the shaping of resilient service ecosystems that considers tactics that act as stabilizing forces, and tactics that promote diversity and change and act as destabilizing forces – both central for service ecosystems to bounce forward in times of crises and beyond.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper draws on theory on complex adaptive service ecosystems and work on organizational resilience and resilient systems. With a focus on Australia and New Zealand, stalwarts of the top three economies in Bloomberg’s COVID Resilience Ranking before the arrival of the Delta variant, this study illustrates how resilient service ecosystems can be shaped.FindingsThis study explicates complexity related to navigating service ecosystems toward a new order in response to the pressures of major crises. It points to the importance of understanding both, how service ecosystems stabilize and change over time. It documents a portfolio of tactics that service organizations can use to influence resilience in the service ecosystems of which they are part. It further reflects on the potential downside of resilient service ecosystems, as they tilt toward rigid structures, failure to learn and an inability to transform or alternatively chaos.Originality/valueService research has made progress in explicating how a service ecosystems perspective can inform crises management. This paper extends this work and explains how service ecosystems can be shaped to bounce not only back from the imposed pressures of a disruptive event but also forward toward a new order.

The evolution of micro-macro link in service dominant logic from service ecosystem perspective:

The evolution of micro-macro link in service dominant logic from service ecosystem perspective:

A model for B2B salesperson performance with service ecosystems perspective: a grounded theory

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to develop a model for business to business salesperson performance (SP) with a service ecosystems perspective.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the research aims, classical grounded theory was used. The data was gathered through in-depth interviews with 20 sales managers and main sales actors.FindingsAfter coding and analyzing the data, salesperson institutional performance is introduced as a core category including three main dimensions of regulative, normative and cognitive-cultural performance. Multi-level factors determining SP are identified and performance results are introduced in a multi-level long term way. The sales actors, macro variables, actors’ orientations and sales method are introduced as circumstances, while salesperson stressors are presented as covariants deterring the fulfillment of salesperson’s activities.Originality/valueThis study focuses on the contributions of the salesperson in the alignment of institutional arrangements or the results of their being institutionalized, as well as determining the factors and variables affecting it.

The long and winding road of eHealth. The service ecosystem perspective

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the eHealth ecosystem’s evolution during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its effects on the progression of care for patients with chronic cardiovascular disease.Design/methodology/approachTo attain the aim of the study, this study chose to adopt a qualitative method that matches the complexity of the issue. The study was conducted in a real context through 44 face-to-face semi-structured interviews of key informants at different levels of the Italian eHealth service ecosystem, via Microsoft Teams. The interviews were carried out from June 2020 to January 2021. In this research, we adopted an abductive approach that enabled a process where the theoretical framework and the data analysis evolved at the same time.FindingsThe study results were used to develop a conceptual framework that considers the key factors enabling and constraining the evolutionary process of the eHealth service ecosystem. In particular, the drivers that emerged from the study were actor role empowerment, actor–network engagement and resource reconfiguration while the inhibitors were inter- and intra-actor misalignment, resource myopia and the platformisation gap. The findings also revealed the pivotal role of the meso level in the development of the eHealth service ecosystem, boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueBy adopting a service ecosystem perspective, this paper contributes, at both a theoretical and a managerial level, to a better understanding of the dynamics related to the diffusion of eHealth. The study identifies the main issues that researchers, managers and policymakers should address to support the evolution of the eHealth service ecosystem, with particular regard to chronic cardiovascular disease.

How Has Digitalisation Influenced Value in the Music Market?

Abstract This paper focuses on how digitalisation has influenced actors’ value determination and value creation in the Swedish music market. It draws on the service-dominant logic (SDL) and the service ecosystem perspective to conceptualise value as co-created through the integration of resources by multiple actors in service exchange, enabled and constrained by institutions and institutional arrangements. Empirically, we draw on a qualitative study of the digitalisation of the Swedish music market that consists of fifty-two interviews with various actors. The findings suggest that digitalisation has influenced service engagement and consequently value creation and determination for various actors, and especially for consumers and producers. This paper contributes by integrating SDL and the service ecosystem perspective into music business research in a novel way to promote a deeper understanding of value, value determination, and value co-creation. This paper also contributes to SDL by suggesting that both value-in-exchange and value-in-use are important aspects of value determination and value co-creation.